Abstract
Purpose
Traditionally, gliomas are considered to be confined to the central nervous system. The shortage of solid donor organs resulted in consideration of organs from patients with primary malignancy such as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) for transplantation into patients suffering from end-stage organ disease.
Methods
We performed a PubMed search including all studies that documented patient demographics, pre- and post-transplantation conditions as well as time to metastasis and overall survival in recipients of organ transplants from donors suffering from GBM.
Results
A total of 11 studies with 11 patients were included in this review. Three patients had liver, three had kidney, and five had lung transplantation. For kidney transplants, average time to metastasis was 17.3 months post-surgery. The average follow-up time was 32.3 months, and all patients were doing well. All liver transplant recipients succumbed due to GBM metastasis. The average survival was 7 months for all three patients. For lung-receiving patients, two patients died at an average of 9.5 months post-transplantation, with a mean time to metastasis of 9 months. Two patients were doing well at 17- and 20-month follow-up. One patient was diagnosed with metastasis 12 months after transplantation, but no follow-up data were provided.
Conclusions
These studies emphasize the disadvantage of transplanting an organ of an individual with GBM. However, it should be noted that these cases do not make up a large percentage of overall transplantations, and donors with primary central nervous system malignancies also do not represent the whole pool of organs available.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abouna GM (2008) Organ shortage crisis: problems and possible solutions. Transplant Proc 40(1):34–38
Armanios MY, Grossman SA, Yang SC, White B, Perry A, Burger PC, Orens JB (2004) Transmission of glioblastoma multiforme following bilateral lung transplantation from an affected donor: case study and review of the literature. Neuro Oncol 6(3):259–263
Buell JF, Trofe J, Hanaway MJ, Lo A, Rosengard B, Rilo H, Alloway R, Beebe T, First MR, Woodle ES (2001) Transmission of donor cancer into cardiothoracic transplant recipients. Surgery 130(4):660–666 (discussion 666–668)
Buell JF, Trofe J, Sethuraman G, Hanaway MJ, Beebe TM, Gross TG, Alloway R, First MR, Woodle ES (2003) Donors with central nervous system malignancies: are they truly safe? Transplantation 76(2):340–343
Cerame MA, Guthikonda M, Kohli CM (1985) Extraneural metastases in gliosarcoma: a case report and review of the literature. Neurosurgery 17(3):413–418
Chen H, Shah AS, Girgis RE, Grossman SA (2008) Transmission of glioblastoma multiforme after bilateral lung transplantation. J Clin Oncol Off J Am Soc Clin Oncol 26(19):3284–3285
Chen F, Karolak W, Cypel M, Keshavjee S, Pierre A (2009) Intermediate-term outcome in lung transplantation from a donor with glioblastoma multiforme. J Heart Lung Transplant Off Publ Int Soc Heart Transplant 28(10):1116–1118
Colquhoun SD, Robert ME, Shaked A, Rosenthal JT, Millis TM, Farmer DG, Jurim O, Busuttil RW (1994) Transmission of CNS malignancy by organ transplantation. Transplantation 57(6):970–974
Detry O, Honore P, Meurisse M, Bonnet P, Jacquet N (1997) Malignancy transplantation with graft: do patients with primary central nervous system tumors have to be excluded from the donor pool? Transpl Int 10(1):83–84
Fatt MA, Horton KM, Fishman EK (2008) Transmission of metastatic glioblastoma multiforme from donor to lung transplant recipient. J Comput Assist Tomogr 32(3):407–409
Frank S, Muller J, Bonk C, Haroske G, Schackert HK, Schackert G (1998) Transmission of glioblastoma multiforme through liver transplantation. Lancet 352(9121):31
Glioma Meta-Analysis Trialists (GMT) Group (2002) Chemotherapy for high-grade glioma. Cochrane Database Syst Rev (4):CD003913
Jonas S, Bechstein WO, Lemmens HP, Neuhaus R, Thalmann U, Neuhaus P (1996) Liver graft-transmitted glioblastoma multiforme. A case report and experience with 13 multiorgan donors suffering from primary cerebral neoplasia. Transplant Int Off J Eur Soc Organ Transplant 9(4):426–429
Morse JH, Turcotte JG, Merion RM, Campbell DA Jr, Burtch GD, Lucey MR (1990) Development of a malignant tumor in a liver transplant graft procured from a donor with a cerebral neoplasm. Transplantation 50(5):875–877
Nauen DW, Li QK (2013) Cytological diagnosis of metastatic glioblastoma in the pleural effusion of a lung transplant patient. Diagn Cytopathol 1–5. doi:10.1002/dc.22993
Penn I (1988) Transmission of cancer with donor organs. Transplant Proc 20(5):739–740
Ruiz JC, Cotorruelo JG, Tudela V, Ullate PG, Val-Bernal F, de Francisco AL, Zubimendi JA, Prieto M, Canga E, Arias M (1993) Transmission of glioblastoma multiforme to two kidney transplant recipients from the same donor in the absence of ventricular shunt. Transplantation 55(3):682–683
Val-Bernal F, Ruiz JC, Cotorruelo JG, Arias M (1993) Glioblastoma multiforme of donor origin after renal transplantation: report of a case. Hum Pathol 24(11):1256–1259
Acknowledgments
Ahmad T. Alshareef and this work was supported by the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM).
Conflict of interest
None.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jimsheleishvili, S., Alshareef, A.T., Papadimitriou, K. et al. Extracranial glioblastoma in transplant recipients. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 140, 801–807 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-014-1625-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-014-1625-3